CD Reviews

DeLarrocha is a great Schuman player

Malcolm Saldanha | Washington, DC | 03/06/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"DeLarrocha has long been an outstanding interpreter of Schuman, and the playing on this present disc is no exception. One has to admit, however, that in the faster sections of the Humoreske (particularly at the end), her tempos are on the slowish side (this is, after all, the playing of a woman in her 70's).Interpretively, however, her approach to the music is right on target, beautifully poised and steady in rhythm, with perfect use of the pedal--all the trademarks one associates with her artistry. The second mvt of the Fantasy sounds truly like the march it was meant to be, and the finale could not be played more beautifully than it is here. Having said that, Larrocha's London/Decca recordings of the Schuman Fantasy and Carnaval are even better than this present RCA recording. They're certainly better recorded. She was a mainstay of that label for so many years before she defected to RCA. Why have they neglected to re-issue her non-spanish repetory on CD? My main complaint with this disc is, in fact, the sound. While not nearly as bad as the sound RCA produced for her Granados Goyescas, Danzas Espanolas, and Mozart Sonatas discs, the piano sound still strikes me as being too thin, lacking the in beautiful sonority of best piano recordings (listen to the sound on Uchida's Schubert--THIS is what a piano should sound like).Still, with playing as beautiful as this, the ear adjusts and these CD's are well worth having. Be forewarned that those looking for the aggressive digital brilliance of a Kissin, etc, will probably be disappointed. She can't produce that kind of playing anymore."

Very integrated performance

Malcolm Saldanha | 07/13/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I thought she might be too old to perform these rather demanding pieces by Schumann, but she's still in a very good shape here. It is still true that she cannot make good incisive tones any more as she did in her Decca-era, but, instead, her performance got much more integrated, especially in terms of interpretation, which is quite essential to these interpretatively very difficult pieces. If you are a piano-major student and have difficulty in interpretating Humoreske Op.20, which is becoming increasingly important repertory recently, buy this CD for your reference along with Richter and Demidenko."